two days in a row

 We in northern Utah have seen the sun two days in a row.  It's very exciting and is getting all of our hopes up.  All around our neighborhood, people were in working their yards all weekend (not us), including mowing their lawns (not us), unless they are of the LDS faith, in which case they were inside watching the semi-annual General Conference (not us) (also, look it up if you want to but I'm not linking it here).  The flowering trees are flowering; spring bulbs are in full bloom; and there's lots of birds busy with their bird business all over the place.  It's enough to give one hope that spring might be here.

But in case it's not, I put flannel back on the bed when I changed the sheets.

H had another decent spring skiing day up at Alta.  It was a tiny bit warmer and maybe slightly less crowded, which is always welcome.  He slammed his way through lap after groomer lap, skiing back onto the lift nearly each time. His last lap, before catching the 1:09 p.m. bus, was through the ungroomed Ballroom, however, and he said that he rather regretted that.

Look at that sky!  Look at those skiers trekking

up to the top of Baldy! (H not included, this time)

There weren't as many people out during A and M's 8:00 a.m. five mile walk, but Milton still managed to score treats from two different new friends.  When we got home, we immediately did a Costco run (door to door: one hour, which is pretty good, I guess), and then Milton went out to the driveway on his tie-out.  He was out there from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., when we made him come in to eat something; we then each took him on a neighborhood walk; and then there was 5 o'clock tailgating which meant that the dog managed to spend nearly the whole day outside.

Do these look like poops? Yes.  Are

they actually fairly tasty chocolate cookies

made from black beans? Also yes.

While M was basking in the sun, A did a load of laundry, meal-prepped baked tofu, made surprisingly good dark chocolate black bean (!!) cookies and made another focaccia (it's easy and I think I may be addicted to making it).  Dinner was also easy: InstantPot navy beans with lemon and thyme, plus oven-roasted broccoli and that homemade focaccia.  Pretty nice weekend.

Overproved and deflated in the oven

because I tampered with the recipe

wait, is that ... the sun?

After a week of rain and snow in the valley - and over two feet of snow in the mountains - the sun finally came out for us on Saturday.  This made for a decent late-season ski day for H.  It was a cool start but blue bird skies meant the sun came through nicely as the morning wore on.  Pretty much everything was open and it wasn't that busy, plus the fact that it had been cold and snowy all week meant that the conditions stayed decent - it didn't go into the freeze/thaw cycle that is prevalent in spring.

Ooooo blue!

Milton and A decided to continue to ignore any yardwork (it's still too early for that, I think, seeing how it was only 36F when the sun came up) and did the Dimple Dell loop.  We got to see all our usual early morning dog-walk friends (Betty, Loki, Red and Molly) and Milt cadged dog cookies from three different people.  When we got home, it was still cool but the sun was strong, so Milton was able to take up his neighborhood watch position in the driveway.  Indoors, A made another apricot crumble and some chai spice cupcakes, vacuumed and - perhaps prematurely - started switching the closets over from winter to summer wear.  It really probably is too soon but the SLC forecast is going to be in the 70s in the coming week and it's hard to not get excited about that.

when the sky and the ground are the same color

 Saturday's rain scoured the air so that things were back to "healthy" by Sunday morning.  Milton and A were able to do their whole five mile Dimple Dell loop, which took a while because we had to stop to chat with his old dog buddies (Betty, Loki, Molly and Aya) and a new dog buddy (Red).  The sun kept trying to come out but never really broke through.  Milton insisted on some driveway hang time when we got home but did not ultimately last that long: he prefers those days when he can bake himself in the sunshine.  Back home, things got a little domestic meal-prepping InstantPot black beans, lentil soup and a vegan bolognese, as well as attempting a new focaccia recipe.

There's a "wiggle" in the foreground, believe it or not

Because the sun never really broke through, H had another day at Alta with more of the same, although slightly colder and with slightly less snowfall.  The light was still very flat and the conditions still very mixed.  H reported definite grumbling in the locker room about the difficult visibility.  Out of his 29 ski days so far, he thinks only seven have had blue sky/sunshine.  And this was not one of those.  He called it quits early and took the 12:39 bus down canyon.

ETA: fairly successful focaccia

the vagaries of spring weather

 The light at the end of the ski season tunnel is evident (Alta closing day April 20) but still H persists.  The bus was not crowded on Saturday.  And for good reason: the light was flat and it was snowing a wet, heavy snow all day.  He lasted until the 12:39 p.m. bus - when the snow started edging more towards rain - and then headed home.  With spring season comes the overnight freeze/thaw cycle and the overcast day kept the conditions from fully thawing by the time he left.  And since he hasn't bothered to get his skis sharpened for about four years, that makes for some pulse-pounding moments when you get to a more frozen bit.

Below the Ballroom, looking towards Superior

Down in the valley, Milton and A did their walk, but only did 3.5 miles instead of the usual five since the air quality index in the Salt Lake valley was still "unhealthy" due to all the dust that had been blowing in.  After the walk came laundry, and after the laundry came chocolate chip cookies and an apricot crumble.  Milt wanted to spend time hanging out on his tie-out in the driveway but the clouds kept building and then it started to rain.  At least that cleared out the bad air.

We also got a little social for a change, meeting our friends E and K out for beers/food at Piper Down late afternoon.  Piper Down is an Irish pub on State Street in SLC.  Amazingly, it has a huge plant-based menu and their plant-based "meat" is made by a local company, Vegan Daddy Meats.  H had a vegan reuben and I had the vegan "Galway grilled cheese" with corned beaf, carmelized onions, cheddar and Swiss cheeze and Guinness mustard.  It wasn't at all healthy but it was delicious.  And it was also really, really good to spend time catching up with E and K whom we hadn't seen since Friendsgiving.

springy

This isn't a real post, but I was travelling and am a little light on content at present.  It happens.  I mean, we've been doing this for over fifteen years now.

I guess that March in northern Utah is going out like a lamb.  Earlier this week, it was sunny and nearly 80 F.  Then the winds picked up, blowing in enough dust to make the air unhealthy, and droppnig the temperatures down into the 40s.  But we've gotten a taste of spring and when we walk around the neighborhood, the hopeful little crocuses and grape hyacinth and daffodils and narcissi are making their presence known.  

Forsythia and cloudy skies

remember this day in august

The storm system seemed to be moving out on Sunday, as evidenced by the fact that it was so windy.  A and M did their Dimple Dell loop under overcast skies, mid-high 30s and blustery.  The temperature was decent - not so cold as to get cold, but cool enough not to get hot - but I'm just not a fan of the wind.  We chatted briefly with another dog walker whom we recognize, commiserating about the chill of the wind and she said, "we should remember this day in August," when we're sweltering and begging for a cloud.  Wise words.

There were naps

After our walk, we vacuumed the whole house and cleaned the kitchen, finally remembered to water the plants, caught up with friends via text, did more laundry and made chocolate chip scones.  And finished another library book.  Perhaps not quite as productive as some of our days but hey, we did vacuum.

Backside open for business

Up at Alta, with another six inches bringing the storm total to 42-43", H had another pretty good day.  Not quite as good as Saturday, but still.  It was windy and the light was totally flat but ski patrol got the Backside open.  The snow there was thigh-deep and when he skied it, it puffed up over his head on the turns.  It wasn't blower pow, so it was a bit of a workout, but for those who like to ski it deep, it was skiing deep.

all hail spring storms

 With how the climate/weather has changed, northern Utah hardly gets any early season snow (November) any more.  December's totals have diminished too.  But March and even April?  We seem to be getting more and more spring storms.  Case in point: 37+ inches at Alta from the March 13-15 storm.  445" to date, 149" base.  Great for our water and also great for skiing.  

That looks soft

The storm had eased up enough that they didn't have to close the canyon road on Saturday morning.  H's bus was SRO but not packed like sardines; the lodge was definitely full of skiers and it took a while to get out of Wildcat base on the first chair of the day.  But after that, H was pleasantly surprised that the lift lines were not that bad: he figured that the deep snow was slowing down and tiring out the more inexperienced skiers.  And it was definitely deep.  Nothing had been groomed which meant that the runs got bumped up quickly; the continuing snow and flat light meant you couldn't really see the bumps until you hit them.  It was another day that A wouldn't have enjoyed skiing but H had a great time.  He skied all across the mountain - Main Street, the Ballroom, Devil's Castle and the Backside were closed for avalanche work - enjoying Fred's Trees, Chartreuse Nose, the steeps and trees around Supreme Bowl, the Supreme gullies, No. Nine Express, the 3 Bears Trees ... it was a good day.

Mustache compliment of the day: A local guy with his own, much narrower handlebar mustache, told H that he'd be a shoe-in to win the Alta Snowflake Festival's annual mustache contest.

Meanwhile, A and M were fairly productive.  We did our 4.9 mile Dimple Dell loop, plus another mile or so later that afternoon just because; did laundry and changed the sheets (still flannel); made chocolate chip cookies and an apricot crumble; ground chia seeds for overnight oats and made vegan "parmesan;" finished one library book and started another one.  It was a pretty good day in the valley too.

side canyon exploration

On Saturday - slightly sunnier, slightly warmer but also breezier - H did a 6+ mile trail run on Pipe Dream.  But Milton and I had other plans, namely to check out a side canyon off the Moab Rim jeep trail that we hadn't yet explored.  I didn't figure it would go too far but I wanted to see where it did go at least.  We drove over to the Moab Rim trailhead mid-morning and there were at least seven cars already there.  We usually prefer early starts but I wanted the sun to be as high as possible, knowing how chilly it would be in the shade.

Entrance to side canyon

And the pedestrian Stair Climber trail, between the Moab Rim trail and the cliffs, is totally in the shade in the mornings.  This is fantastic for summertime but in early March, it's cold, even with how steep it is and especially with the biting wind.  We met one group of four hikers and one dog as they were descending; we passed a solo hiker and his dog just before the top of the climb; and as we went left into the wash (doing the jeep road's loop clockwise), we saw two backpackers and their dog bundled up and heading out after a night in the back country.  (I'm not sure you're supposed to be camping back in there but maybe they went way out to some BLM land.)

Pour-over

Milton and I veered left into our side canyon just before the Sand Hill portion of the jeep trail.  It starts wide open but quickly narrows.  There were a few older footprints in the sand at the bottom of the wash so we obviously weren't the only curious ones.  It didn't go in very far but we did have to scramble over a couple of twisted junipers.  The little canyon ends in a bowl with a small spring seepage, enough to feed a few trees, and a pour-over from the higher level.  I didn't see any non-technical way to get up there so Milton and I spent a few appreciative moments in the quiet and then retraced our steps back to the car - and noted another wash for future exploration (5.4 miles roundtrip).

Hiking buddy

That evening we went to Dewey's for beers with our friends C and F, who had managed to score a last minute babysitter.  And that was about it - a quick trip.  Sunday morning was gorgeous: the sunniest, warmest and least windy day of the weekend. We three did a 4.5 town walk, said goodbye to our neighbor A and her dog, and headed back north.  Where winter was definitely still hanging around.

edging closer

 It may technically be spring - the days are getting longer (yay!) - but winter hasn't quite let go of northern Utah yet.  The biggest storms seem to always roll in on Thursdays, which is less than ideal when we head down to Moab.  We lucked out for our early March trip down, however, as the snow stayed pretty high and our drive down was uneventful and of the usual duration: 3.5 hours as opposed to that epic 6.5 hour one.

It's definitely edging towards spring in southern Utah, even in Moab which has nearly the same elevation as Salt Lake City.  There is still snow in the La Sals and it is still chilly at night and in the shade and when the breeze picks up.  But the flowering trees have started to flower and if there's no wind and the sun is out, well, that's just pleasant.

Going to have to start remembering sunscreen

Friday morning, A and Milton headed out onto Pipe Dream/Pipeline for that 7.2 mile lollipop route.  We encountered just a few people on Pipe Dream - a MTBer with a dog, a hiker with two sweet labs and a solo trail runner - and one on the Pipeline - a hiker with a dog - but there were lots of cars at the Hidden Valley trail head, more than we've seen in a while.  Although it hasn't been a particularly hard winter, people are antsy for nice weather.

Love all Moab's murals - this one's by Dewey's

While A and M were doing their hike, H did a short trail run.  He doesn't have a plan for any races yet but he's keeping his running fitness up.  That afternoon we swung by Josie Wyatt's and, as we walked through town, it is obvious that the off season is over in Moab.  Almost all the shops and restaurants are open now and there is more traffic, both vehicular and foot.

in which it is still spring, but perhaps not for much longer

 My dough for the olive bread failed - or rather, I failed it, not putting nearly enough flour in to match the wet ingredients, despite the notations I had left for myself to that effect from the last time I (successfully) made the bread.  So I made wholemeal muffins instead to tuck into the freezer for future snacks.   I also made several quarts of veggie broth for the freezer and a veganized Moroccan "chicken" curry with couscous soup (from The Daily Soup Cookbook).

Milton and I also did our five-ish mile loop under even warmer sunshine than Saturday; we said hi to six dogs (down from the eleven the day before) and M got gratuitious trail snacks from a nice woman who thought he was handsome.  Back home, while I was puttering around in the kitchen, he got some more good driveway time, soaking in the sun and keeping an eye on the neighbors.

Blue and white

Meanwhile, it was gorgeous up at Alta.  The snow had that spring feel to it, though: super firm and crusty in the morning, as it had set up hard after the Saturday afternoon thaw.  H thought he still heard a generator churning away up there but the lifts seemed to be running better.  His mustache compliment came this time from a girl liftie (woman liftie? chick liftie?) so that counts as extra.

The bus driver on the 1:39 down canyon bus was flying - so much so that on one corner, a girl actually slid out of her seat from the centrifugal forces - but even with the quick descent, it was already clouding up by the time H got home.  No more driveway time and no tailgating, alas.  And as the evening wore on, the winds picked up.  Perhaps one should not put the snow shovels away quite yet.

conflicted

 Here's the thing: the mountains of northern Utah need snow (so do the southern mountains, for that matter).  But when it is bluebird skies and almost 60F in the valley - and over 40F up at Alta, which doesn't help the snowpack any - in the beginning of March, it is really hard to complain.  It's just so nice out!  Cool, sure, in the shade or if the breeze picks up.  But in the full sun it is just delightful.  So you can see how we're conflicted: snow means water but sunshine means awesome.  We even managed to get in the first home tailgate of the year (although we were all pretty chilled by the end of it).

I was definitely overdressed for Milton's and my morning five mile walk.  There were lots of other people out too, mostly runners and dog walkers; the cyclists seemed to wait for the afternoon when it was at its warmest.  We got to meet eleven dogs, some new ones/some we've met before.  When we got home, Milton did not need to be asked twice if he wanted to hang out on his driveway tie-out to soak in the sunshine.  While he did that, I dealt with laundry, baked a vegan bara brith (Welsh fruit cake) and got the dough started for a no-knead olive bread.

Tele-fest

Up at Alta, it was gorgeous as well - the perfect day for a telemark ski festival - although the snow stayed pretty firm and H didn't venture off-piste.  Also, for some reason Alta has been on generator-power only, meaning the lifts are running very slowly and stop a lot.  Despite the beautiful day, he got on the 1:39 bus down-canyon, having had enough of the long lift lines.  There was one big bonus, however: a 20-something kid in the lift line took one look at H and exclaimed, "Utah's best mustache!"

sundry

 By Sunday, however, it was back to a ski day that A wouldn't have liked, per H.  It wasn't too cold (in the 30s) and was less crowded at Alta than Saturday, but the light was very flat all day and it was just kind of grey.  Although the YTD snowfall seems a little low, coverage is decent, and H did get into the Devil's Castle and Catherine's Area to check things out.

Devil's Castle scene

And it was business as usual for those of us who stayed in the valley.  Milton and I did our almost five mile loop and then I logged some decent kitchen time, making a white bean and pasta soup for the coming week, a peach crumble using last summer's CSA peaches and a Korean "beef" bulgogi for dinner.   

Catherine's Area situation

Wow, these posts are just not that compelling.  But sometimes life is just getting outside when you able and making your way as best you can.

various

Back up in northern Utah, we got an all day storm on Thursday - like, literally raining/snowing all day down in the Salt Lake Valley.  It didn't amount to much throughout the day, instead waiting until after the evening commute to accumulate much.  We had maybe 3-4 inches by Friday morning, mostly on grassy surfaces as the drive in to work wasn't bad.

The mountains fared pretty well: Alta got three-ish much needed feet of snow.  And, for a change, the storm did not take place over the weekend, which meant that H's bus ride on Saturday morning was on time and, whilst crowded, not overcrowded.  Same with the actual skiing: it was busy, but not overrun.  And with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the 20s, H declared that it was the first day he'd skied all season that I would have enjoyed.  The snow was pretty good, softer off-piste than on the groomers.  They're up to a 120" base, with 348" on the season.  Not great but could be worse.

Sundog over Baldy's Main Chute

M and I kept ourselves busy while H was skiing.  We did our 4.8 mile loop, stopping to meet a 140 lb. Pyrenees mix named Bentley who was just delightful.  At home, we made switchel, infused some rum with lemon peel, made chocolate chip cookies and InstantPot black beans.  When H got home, I walked to the library for more books; then when I got home, H went for a quick run; then when H got home, we three all went to Costco to replace our recently-deceased t.v.  Fortuntely, that Costco is right near a sports bar we like so we were able to fortify ourselves with a beer after venturing into weekend retail.

that's more like it

Saturday was much better: partly sunny with a light breeze, pleasant when the sun was out.  All three of us went up to Sand Flats Recreation Area for a short hike on the Slickrock Trail.  We did just over four miles, out and back on the main trail, and while the parking lot was busier than we've seen since fall, we only saw a handful of people out on the trail.  The 4x4 trail traffic was picking up too.

Soaking in some Vitamin D

We had a date for drinks at our friends' house, so after a quick run through the grocery store, we walked over there for a couple of late afternoon/early evening hours.  It is for sure getting busier in town: the slow season is coming to an end.

Sunday morning was quite nice with lots of sun, although it did cloud up as the day went on.  A and M returned to the Pipe Dream trail: walking the trail to the Hidden Valley trailhead from the Jackson Street entrance, and then returning along the Pipeline trail at the base of the foothills.  The Pipeline trail is a straight shot, unlike the Pipe Dream trail that winds in and out of all the drainages, so it was a little quicker on the return.  We clocked 7.2 miles, our longest hike of the year to date.  

M on the Pipeline trail

While we were doing that, H got his mileage in on a town walk, using the opportunity to pick up a new jigsaw puzzle.  By the time M and I got back to the house, it was already unboxed and he was well into it.  He did manage to tear himself way to go to Woody's for a couple of afternoon beers.

Art

Monday was, of course, the nicest day - sunny and pleasant.  We three did a town walk and then packed up to head back to SLC.  While we did encounter just a few snowflakes whilst crossing over Soldier Summit, the weather was good, the roads were mostly dry and there was very little traffic.  We were all grateful that the return trip was the regular 3.5 hours - which doesn't seem nearly that bad when compared with 6.5!

long form driving

Sometimes the adventure is in Moab.  Sometimes the adventure is just getting there.  

When we went down for the February long holiday weekend, our departure was dependent on work schedules.  We were watching the weather pretty closely and although a storm rolled in around 11 a.m. on Thursday, we could only leave when we could leave.  We checked the UDOT traffic cameras and while it was snowing up and over Soldier Summit, the roads looked clear from Wellington onwards.  Normally, it takes us about 3.5 hours to get to Moab from Sandy.  This time it took us 6.5 hours, with 2.5 hours of that on I-15 in Salt Lake and Utah Counties.  That's forty miles.  In 2.5 hours.

The clouds were below the cliffs

The gridlocked traffic cleared out once we got onto Route 6 in Spanish Fork canyon.  There was snow on the road but there were clear channels for the wheels, not much traffic and it wasn't slippery.  Slow and steady and we cleared off the headlights when we stopped for gas in Wellington.  Where it was still snowing, by the way: it had taken us so long to get there that the storm had spread out further south.  And it continued, all the way down to I-70.  That was actually the best part - even though it was full dark, the precipitation mostly let up from Green River to the turn-off to Moab.  And then it started raining, and continued raining all the way there.  Which at least washed off some of the salty road slush.  That drive was the longest it's ever taken us to get to (or from) Moab and was the longest car ride Milton had ever had.  He was a little fidgety by the end but was (of course) a good boy.

Greening up

The storm lingered a bit into Friday, with low clouds and off and on rain.  A and Milton did just over five and a half miles on Pipe Dream where the first hour was dry and the second hour had rain, sleet and snow.  We got soaked but luckily it wasn't too cold.  H and A left Milt snoozing on the bed for a couple of late afternoon beers at Josie Wyatt's, and then all three of us caught up with our neighbor and her dog in the evening.

interlude

 Does anyone else's dog do this?  Like, on a semi-regular basis?

Literally going halfsies

In other weird Milton things, not only does he love cooked winter squash (acorn, butternut, mashed-up spaghetti), he also likes green peas (and blueberries, but that's not quite so weird).  But not banana.

sun day

 No, I am not going to use the phrase "Sunday fun-day" because, frankly, I despise that phrase.  Makes my skin crawl.  Super annoying.  But I am going to point out that on Sunday, it was a sunny day, and that was most excellent.  

Found this guy

I mean, it was cold: Milton and I had to wait until 9:15 for it to "warm up" to 20F for our Dimple Dell walk.  It was worth it, though, because the sun was strong enough that it was melting the ice on the sidewalks, and by the time we were halfway up the hill to Granite Park, I had warmed to the point where I could take off my mittens.  There weren't as many dog walkers as on Saturday but Dimple Dell was busy with lots of trail runners.  After we did our usual loop, we came home for chores, meal prep (overnight oats and balsamic tempeh) and a little baking (a coconut turmeric loaf), a little reading and another, shorter afternoon walk in the sunshine.

Scrub oak branches against the blue

Meanwhile, H also found it cold up at Alta: -2 F at 7:30 a.m., although it did warm to 9 F at the summit and low 20s at the base by the time he caught the 2:09 bus down canyon.  The snow was pretty good, the visibility terrific and it was not as crowded as it had been on Saturday. 

Clear day on Rock N' Roll

february flurries

 It's been a weekend storm cycle all winter, it seems, and this last weekend was no different.  Friday was a miserable day down in the valley: windy (it had been terribly windy all week, yuck) and a lot of rain, continuing into the night.  This meant snow up at elevation.  Luckily the canyon road never closed and so while H's bus was standing room only, he managed to get on it; and although traffic up the canyon was a red snake of taillights, they made slow but steady progress, getting up to Alta about a half hour later than usual.

Another grey day

It was yet another day that A wouldn't have liked.  It was 6 F when H   started skiing and 11 F when he finished at 2, flurrying all day with dark, flat light.  The snow was nice and soft but it was stupid-crowded, taking 34 minutes to get through the singles line for his first chair of the day.  He switched to the Supreme chair which was okay for a run or two, but by 10:15 all the corrals at all the lifts were overflowing.  And there were the usual dingdongs to contend with in the singles lines: folks who tried to ride up together, folks allowing cuts in line, folks just not paying attention when it was their turn.  You would think that anyone who is a good enough skier to ski at Alta would have at least a clue as to how to navigate the lift lines.  You'd be wrong.

Meanwhile, Milton and A did their usual Dimple Dell loop, although it took longer than usual because there were so many dogs to stop and meet: Betty, Loki, Grover, Lily, Dusty, Angus (cutest corgi), Arlo, Lucy and Annie.  Not the most productive day in the house - marinated some tempeh for meal prep, made sweet cashew cream and a chocolate pudding cake, tofu scramble for dinner - but I did finish a library book and walk to the library for more.  Some days it's okay to just curl up with a cup of tea and a good book.

workaday

 In case you haven't guessed by now, Milton is a pretty great dog.  We love him so much and we're so lucky to have rescued him.  From the time we brought him home, he's been super chill in the house, able to be left to have the run of it when we go to work.  That all changed one day last September when - as best we can figure - a massive thunderstorm, basically centered over our house and absolutely terrified him.  Since then, he's been a little nervous in our Sandy house, scared of the fridge and flinching at the noise of the furnace.  So we've been crating him and that is working really well: he goes in like a champ and seems to like it, even going in of his own volition when we're home and the door is open; and we don't have to worry about him getting hurt or damaging anything.

Hard at work (sleeping) with H

That said, both H and I are lucky to have accommodating offices post-pandemic and we're able to occasionally take the dog to work with us.  Milton doesn't really like going to my office: I'm on the sixth floor and I think he must be able to feel something in the building that we humans don't.  (Plus he's scared of the elevator so we have to walk all the way up.)  When I take him in, he is a good boy, of course.  He's quiet and pretty patient, but fidgety and nervous and has trouble settling.  It is entirely the opposite at H's work: Milt basically commandeers an empty conference room and crashes, snoozing the day away.

Woke up and moved, but now asleep again

on the homefront

Thus endeth January; on to February.  The first month of 2025 was pretty dry snow-wise, actually, and when the first storm of February made its presence known, everyone got pretty excited about it.  They were thinking up to two feet in the Cottonwoods and 2-4 feet in the mountains north of I-80.  I'm not going to say it was entirely a bust, but Alta only got 16 inches of heavy, wet snow, and then some rain on top of that.  Not ideal.

"Where's the snow at?" Milton, probably

On Saturday, H was at the bus stop for his usual 6:30 a.m. bus.  He couldn't get on it as it was full by the time it rolled up; he couldn't get on the next one either.  So he came home, at first thinking that maybe he'd wait a couple of hours and go up mid-morning.  But then inertia took over and he gave up for the day.  Sunday morning he managed to squeeze onto the 6:30 bus where it was standing room only.  And the crowding didn't stop there: for the first lift line of the day, both the singles line and the main corral were stretched up the hill, past the Wildcat chair lift (photo below).  It was a 45 minute line for that first chair.

And it was barely worth the effort, he said later, noting that it was possibly the worst day of the season.  Flat light, crazy windy, super crowded, rain starting midday and really heavy snow that got pushed into huge bumps by run #2 - and you couldn't see those bumps because of the flat light.  (Yet another day that A wouldn't have liked.)  He had been intending to take the 2:09 bus down-canyon but when the rain started, he sprinted for the 1:09 instead, nabbing one of only five seats available.  Seems like he wasn't alone in calling it a [grey, soggy] day.

#iykyk but an aerial shot of these lines would be impressive

Meanwhile, down in the valley, Milton and I had a fairly productive weekend.  Thanks to our new Garmin watch, we finally know that our Dimple Dell loop is 4.8 miles: we did that loop both Saturday and Sunday, getting to meet friendly dogs each time.  Saturday it was supposed to be raining but wasn't; Sunday was terrifically windy.  Personally, I prefer rain to wind.  In addition to our walks, we made chili and a Korean kimchi stew, chocolate chip cookies, 4+ quarts of vegetable broth and an apple galette, plus tried a new baked oatmeal recipe and went to the local library.

let the sunshine in

By Sunday morning, the storm had moved on, leaving it sunny and cold: 12 F to start H's day at Alta and "warming up" to 17 F by the time he left at 2.  Of course, 17 and sunny is much warmer than 17, overcast and windy, but still.  That's cold.  The road was clear enough that the SRO bus made it up no problem, and while it was busy and crowded, it wasn't Christmas-level busy and crowded.  No mustache compliments, alas.

View from Razorback

While that was happening, A and Milton did another Dimple Dell loop: we heard, but didn't see, the coyotes this time, plus M scored some first tracks.  It was 24 F when we started but with the sun out, it was really pretty pleasant.  Back at home, there were chores to be done: vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, laundry, mending (every pair of flannel jammies has lost a button), and cream (vegan) of broccoli soup.  And muffins, because I like making muffins.

Milton got first tracks

stashes for 'staches

After about a week with no new snow, a small storm rolled into northern Utah Friday night through Saturday.  It didn't bring all that much to the party (Alta got about three inches, just barely more than we got in the valley) but at least gave things a little refresh.  H's morning ski bus was completely full.  It was not a particularly pleasant day up at Alta - yet another one A wouldn't have enjoyed - being cold, windy, socked in/skiing in the clouds with very flat light.  He didn't even stay all that long, leaving on the 1:09 bus.

H must have at least looked like he was having a great time, though, because of the facial hair commentary: upon noticing H's ice-caked mustache, a lifty gave him a fist bump and said, "Looks like somebody's finding some snow!"

Gloomy Alta scene

Meanwhile, down in the valley, A and Milton did their Dimple Dell loop, where we met Chance, the 100 lb. husky mix, who chased Milt a little (he was not quite fast enough to really give M a workout) but mostly leaned against A's legs for butt scratches.  It snowed all day but the flakes were tiny, barely adding up to two inches.

On the homefront, we did some snow shoveling, made five quarts of veggie broth, a braised Indian chickpea stew for the freezer, Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes (with cinnamon and cayenne) and an "orange chicken" dish for dinner, using soy curls.

sidewinder

 On Saturday, it wasn't quite as sunny but still cold.  And windy this time.  I had in mind to go back to finish off the Moab Brand trails; H declined to accompany Milton and me in the face of all that wind.  (He did end up doing a town walk where it was yes, still cold and windy.)  To be honest, about fifteen minutes into a headwind out of the north, I was thinking that H had the right idea.

Heading north on lower Sidewinder

Milton and I drove out to the Killer B parking area off 191, just north of Arches National Park, and hopped onto the paved bike path until we reached the lowest exit of the Sidewinder trail.  The wind was brutal.  My hands were super-cold, despite mittens, and I wished I'd worn a beanie that covered my ears better.  Nevertheless, we persisted, and once we got onto Sidewinder proper, we had some protection from the wind with the cliff walls.  The trail was pretty and red, hard-packed dirt mostly, and it climbed steadily - with a couple of cliffy spots - until we got to the Rusty Spur intersection.

From there we crossed the paved bike path and made our way to a big intersection: Bar M loop, Lazy EZ and Deadman's Ridge.  When we turned onto Deadman's Ridge, we were mainly heading south and it was much, much more pleasant with the wind at our backs.  I'd hoped to knock off the whole trail segment (3.4 miles) and I think we got most of it, although at one point we must have turned wrong and finished up on Bar B instead.  Still, it's a great trail to walk (way too technical for me to ride), with rolling ups and downs and varied terrain.  From Bar B we segued to Killer B, and thus back down to the car.  We'd seen no one the whole time.

The wash between Sidewinder and the paved bike path

After getting cleaned up back at home, H and I walked to Josie Wyatt's for a beer and managed to run into a friend there.  Dinner was again soup and the evening's entertainment was exactly what it had been the night before (different KZMU radio shows though).

Stats: A and M hike: 6.34 miles; H town walk: 4.00 miles; A and H roundtrip to JW's: 2 miles; soup: green chile stew.

PS - I didn't take any other photos so here's a quick run-down of the rest of weekend: additional hikes/trail runs: A and M 4.8 miles, H 4 miles; additional town walks: 1.5 and 3.48.  Two more soups: red lentil and then again back to regular lentil.  We like soup.

pritchett

Per usual, behind on posting after a long Moab weekend.  At least I'm consistent.  We got out of Dodge (SLC) Thursday afternoon before the MLK Jr. long weekend.  Traffic was light heading to Moab and the roads were clear and dry, because it has been a not particularly snowy January thus far.  (The commuter in me delights in this; the person who likes to shower and drink water and do laundry and keep the trees in my yard alive is slightly stressed by it.  We've still got a lot of winter ahead, though.)

Winter in Pritchett Canyon

Friday morning was gorgeous, with clear blue skies.  It was also quite cold, in the teens Fahrenheit, and so Milton and I waited until after 10 to go for our hike.  It had warmed up to the almost upper-20s F by then.  We left H behind to deal with some work stuff (although he did manage to get out for a town walk) and drove out the Kane Creek road to the OHV trailer lot, just after the pavement ends.  Once we were in Pritchett Canyon proper, I let the dog off leash - we had the place completely to ourselves, with no worries about 4-wheelers coming up on us.  

Look. At. That. Sky.

My plan, such as it was (not really much of a "plan"), was just to walk about an hour or so to see how far we'd get and then go back.  We followed the road on the way out and since there wasn't any wind, it was actually pretty pleasant in the sun.  To make things interesting, we stuck to the wash on the way back.  We saw literally no one until we got back to the car: some folks had parked right next to us so Milt was able to introduce himself.

That afternoon, H and I strolled to Woody's for a couple of beers and then strolled home.   Dinner was soup and the evening entertainment was reading on the couch to whatever excellent radio show was on KZMU.

Stats: A and M hike: 6.67 miles; H town walk: 3.89 miles; A and H roundtrip to Woody's: 1.5 miles; soup: lentil.

more bettering

 Undeterred, H was back up at Goldminer's Daughter by bus (SRO again, red snake all the way up) by 7:30 Sunday morning.  It was again poor visibility and snowed all day, with the added bonus of being extra cold: single digits at the start -- to be exact, 6 F -- and "warmed up" to 13 F by the time he called it quits.  (Yet another day I wouldn't have enjoyed.)  The snow was good and ski patrol is continuing to get more and more terrain open.  He did some skiing off of the High T as there's finally enough coverage there.  

More importantly, he got three separate facial hair compliments.  "Sweet 'stache, dude" and "I remember you from yesterday - I recognize the mustache" in the lift line; and best of all, during a lift ride with a girl and a guy, the girl said she liked his mustache.  No way of knowing if they were a couple ... but I'm guessing that guy starts growing his own crumb catcher tonight.

Coming down off the High T

The canyon road wasn't nearly as messy this time.  The 2:09 bus was there and waiting when H went out for it and it was a straightforward trip down canyon, getting him home about three hours earlier than the day before.

As for Milton and me, we weren't quite as productive.  We did our Dimple Dell walk again and, before that, M chased and wrestled with a new dog friend (Cooper) in the ball fields behind an elementary school.  Then it was changing sheets and laundry (both doing and putting away), and making a batch of chickpea salad for lunches, and meal-prepping overnight oats for breakfasts.  But when I got out all the ingredients to try to make bread, I just ran out of steam and read my book instead.  The bread will be there next time.

bettering the snowpack

 Now that the Christmas/New Year tourists have gone home, we've gotten a couple of nice little storms in the mountains.  Not overproducers by any means, but enough to grant some soft turns and some stuffed canyons.  Case in point: it started snowing Friday night so it was standing room only for H on the Saturday 6:30 a.m. bus.  Roads were fair, and he got to Goldminer's Daughter in about an hour.  It snowed all day, cold, with poor visibility, but with 16" in twelve hours, the skiing was about the best it has been so far this season.  

Starting to stack up over the lodge entrance

He was at the bus stop for the 2:09 p.m. bus, which didn't arrive until 2:35.  Then they couldn't get back out of Alta because there was a car stuck at the top of the driveway, blocking traffic.  Then the bus got a little stuck.  Then they got diverted to the bypass road (which is protected from avalanches, unlike the main canyon road).  Because of the red snake, it took them 1.5 hours to go less than a mile on the bypass road.  They got to Snowbird Center at 5:17, which filled the remaining space on the bus (too bad for Creekside hopeful bus riders).  The lower they went in the canyon, the clearer the roads were and they got to the mouth of the canyon at 5:54 p.m.  Another day, declared H, upon his return home nearly twelve hours after he left, that I wouldn't have enjoyed skiing.

I did enjoy my day, though.  Milton and I slept in until 7:15, did about four miles through Dimple Dell, where we saw a hawk, three fat bikes, one cross-country skier and one of M's dog friends, Aya, a Norwegian elkhound who is about the cutest and sweetest dog I've ever met.  In addition to that, I made two soups (lentil, for the freezer, and avgolemono for dinner), InstantPot black beans (for the freezer), a batch of brownies, a peach crumble (using summer CSA peaches) and roasted and mashed a squash for the dog.

stayathome

After a week of gloomy, unsettled but ultimately unproductive weather, Northern Utah got a decent storm system starting late Friday night.  This was ideal for those of us (read: me) who didn't want to drive in it.  We got several inches in the valley and Alta got 21" by the time it was over - enough to make an absolute mess of the canyon roads with avalanches both natural and mitigative, leading to road closures and nightmare traffic with plenty of doofuses sliding off.  H dithered back and forth about whether battling the bus crowds and hours-long commutes would be worth it for some decent turns.  Ultimately, he decided he just couldn't face the hassle and opted for a stay-at-home weekend.

Gray day

Saturday morning, Milton and I ventured out into the snow for a 3.2 mile walk.  We'd gotten maybe a couple of wet, heavy inches at the point, enough for neighborhood kids to grab their sleds and their helmets (kids wear helmets sledding now - good idea!) for the small, neighborhood park hills.  Other than that, not too many people were out and about.  Milt got pretty wet but it wasn't too cold, and we kept moving, so he didn't get chilled; he always enjoys a brisk towel-off when we get home. That afternoon I made chocolate chip cookies and a wholegrain soda bread with raisins, plus a tomato-chickpea stew for dinner.  It was definitely a baking and soup kind of day.  H did have to shovel our sidewalks, confirming the wet, heavy inches we'd gotten.

No coyotes here!

By Sunday morning, the storm had moved on, leaving the sun to valiantly try to break through the remaining clouds.  Leaving H back at the house to work on his bike ride tracking spreadsheet, Milton and I set out for a Dimple Dell loop.  The streets were clear and drying but the sidewalks were a mixed bag, depending on what time folks had managed to get out to shovel (or not).  We had just started into Dimple Dell from Granite Park when I saw a large, off-leash dog trotting along the trail ahead of us.  Wait, no, that's a regular sized coyote - who disappeared into the scrub oaks at the bottom of a hill.  I decided that we should not ourselves venture into those scrub oaks and we hied it out of there, completing our loop on sidewalks instead.  We did still clock five miles.  The rest of the day was pretty lazy.  H made us homefried potatoes with peppers and onions for lunch; I made a coconut-turmeric cake and also some vegetable noodle soup for dinner.   We often feel guilty when we're not Out Doing Things on the weekends but sometimes it's okay to rest.  Sometimes you need it.

the week in skiing (3)

 Monday H was back on the full early bus, scoring a seat this time.  It was cold, windy, snowing a bit off and on with subpar visibility.  Again, there were delayed lift openings as ski patrol worked to clear potential avalanches (the avalanche danger is very high along the Wasatch Front right now, with the wind-driven new snow unstable on top of the old base layer).  Again, it was really busy with all the holiday tourists.  H took the 2:09 bus down but the drive was snow-covered and quite slow: it took them almost an hour to get to the mouth of the canyon.

Meanwhile: A went back to work.

Last run of the day

On New Year's Eve day, the storm system had moved on, leaving bright blue skies and bitter cold in its wake, or as H texted me, "Mostly sunny and cold AF."  More specifically, the thermometer at the bottom of the Supreme chair was at 0F for most of the day - brutal.  On the plus side, the visibility was quite good and it didn't seem quite as crowded, seeing how most people spent a lot of time in the lodges, trying to warm up.  H took the 2:09 bus down (much faster trip with clear roads) and at 4 p.m., he reported his toes still being numb.

Meanwhile: A went to work.

That just looks cold

And on the first day of the new year, and the last day before H had to go back to work, it was back to being cloudy and windy with really flat light.  Not quite as cold as Tuesday, but with no help from the sun.  He noticed that it did seem less crowded: all this past week, the lodge's cafeteria area had been filling up by 7:30 a.m., but not so much so on 1/1/25.  When he got home, he declared that of the now thirteen days he's skied, A would have enjoyed none of them.

Moody Superior across the parking lot

Meanwhile: A didn't have to go to work, so she and Milton did a 3.25 mile walk, vacuumed, took down Christmas and made black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread for dinner.

the week in skiing (2)

 And then the Christmas vacationers arrived in-force.  At 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, H scored one of the last seats on the then-SRO bus up to Alta.  They got to Goldminer's Daughter/Wildcat Base area at 7:25, where it was snowing hard; by 9:45, the lifts still weren't open (usually 9:15).  The winds had loaded up the snow requiring widespread avalanche control, which meant delays in opening.  Plus all the vacationers meant massive lines.  By 11:10, only Collins and Wildcat lifts were open and H had only managed to take ONE run.  In the clouds and the wind and on the hard snow, and on only one trail (Mambo).  So he cut his losses, jumping on the 11:39 a.m. bus.  He wasn't the only one calling it quits: he said the locker room was full of locals/regulars packing up and heading out.

Meanwhile, A walked twice with Milton, did some take-home work, food-prepped for Sunday and made vegetable broth, green-chile stew and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

Look at the lines.  Jeez.

There was some new snow overnight and H's early bus was completely full, SRO, when he got on.  "Dang tourists," was his text to me.  People were out in line early over an hour before the lifts opened.  Still, the lines got super long at Collins - it was almost before they got Sugarloaf open and 1 p.m. for Supreme - and by 10:30, he'd only managed two runs.  He fought through it, battling the lines and the hard, wind-packed snow, until the 2:39 p.m. bus.  He was rather hungry by the time he got home.  The afternoon's quote: "Of the ten days I've skied so far this season, you would have liked none of them."

Date-walnut

Meanwhile, A did a long walk with Milton, finished her take-home work, made a date-walnut loaf cake  (a little overbaked but yummy when you get a date) and finished the vegan lentil-veg Wellington for dinner (time-consuming but not difficult, and pretty tasty).  

Vegan Wellington